When the ancient Polynesians invented surfing, they often used a paddle to help them navigate. Fast-forward a few millennia, and Stand-Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, finds itself trendy again. Part of its increasing popularity is that standing upright allows surfers to spot waves more easily and thus catch more of them, multiplying the fun factor. Paddling back to the wave becomes less of a strain as well. The ability to cruise along on flat inland water, surveying the sights, is another advantage. Finally, its a good core workout. If youre sold on the idea, schedule an intro SUP lesson, free with board and paddle rental, and you may find yourself riding the waves like a Polynesian king.More

Many of us remember coming home from our elementary schools with freshly glazed pinchpots, cups, or whatever else our young imaginations could conjure up. Saturday mornings at the Randall Museum can bring that memory back, or create a new one for the youngsters. Ceramics make great gifts — especially on Mothers' and Fathers' Day. Hop on board for the Randall's once-weekly class, and for $6 and two weeks to have your work fired and glazed, you'll have all the materials you need.More

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The sinews of old San Francisco lie in the water: the posts standing in the Bay mud that supported the docks and piers where the shipping that made the city possible, and later allowed it to flourish, flowed.

Freak Show
Jello Shots, Cut-Off T-Shirts, and Rushing the Stage: What Happens When 89 Cougars Go To a Def Leppard Concert in Concord

Full disclosure. Growing up in the '80s, I was not a big Def Leppard fan and never even considered going to one of their concerts.

But two-and-a-half decades later came the irresistible bait: the ticket plus a pre-party at a gorgeous Alameda home with alcohol and catered food and 88 other moms like me, chartered buses for the ride to the show and back, and a T-shirt emblazoned with "Def Cougar" across the chest, all for a mere fifty-five bucks.

When I told my husband -- our family's band guru -- my plan, he immediately started grilling me on Def Leppard and Poison songs I could name (I hadn't even heard of Lita Ford, so he didn't bother asking me about her). When I responded with my oft-used line, "I'm sure I'll know them when I hear them," he YouTubed some of their greatest hits and played them for me on our big-screen Mac, the volume maxed out. I immediately recognized "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and "Photograph" (the first most likely from seeing Tom Cruise's interesting interpretation of it in Rock of Ages this summer).

While my husband was trying to give me a Leppard tutorial (filling me in on the world's most famous one-armed drummer, for example), I was targeting my triceps. (At 45, it had been a number of years since I purposefully had donned a fitted, black, short-sleeve T-shirt.).

At 5 p.m. on Friday, the pre-party began. It was a sight to behold: 89 middle-aged women in matching "Def Cougar" tees downing Jell-O shots, sipping on pomegranate vodka martinis, and munching on catered Mexican food.

Co-organizer Karin Fox with her Cougar Juice

The longest line of the night -- even longer than the one at Sleep Train Pavilion's women's bathroom -- proved to be the one for the couple of moms who were wielding scissors. By the end of the party, the floor was covered in black shreds, and only a handful of shirts looked the way they had when their wearers had arrived. The rest were shredded -- or at least missing their tight neckbands.

Concord, here we come.

After a group photo on the front stairs (it was a massive house), we boarded the two full-sized buses. Through the Caldecott tunnel and 45 minutes later, we emerged into another world: the Sleep Train Pavilion packed with Poison and Def Leppard fans.

If anyone tries to tell you the '80s are dead, just tell them to take the next BART train to Concord -- and they will realize they are mistaken. Spandex pants, bandanas, and big hair were everywhere -- and that was on the men. Fishnet stockings, copious amounts of makeup, Joan Jett-style hair and feathers rocked the females.

Poison had already taken the stage by the time we arrived (Lita Ford was long gone), and our large pod quickly dispersed into smaller subsets around the packed lawn area. No surprise that Poison's signature ballad "Every Rose Has its Thorns" and "Nothin' But a Good Time" received the biggest responses from the crowd, made up of a mix of 40-somethings (and a few older throwbacks) reliving their high school years as well as some teens and pre-teens who were likely seeing the bands for the first time.

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Sub Pop recording artists 'clipping.' brought their brand of noise-driven experimental hip hop to the closing night of 2016's San Francisco Electronic Music Fest this past Sunday. The packed Brava Theater hosted an initially seated crowd that ended the night jumping and dancing against the front of the stage. The trio performed a set focused on their recently released Sci-Fi Horror concept album, 'Splendor & Misery', then delved into their dancier and more aggressive back catalogue, and recent single 'Wriggle'.
Opening performances included local experimental electronic duo 'Tujurikkuja' and computer music artist 'Madalyn Merkey.'"